Chapter 27 Masika #2
She stepped forward. Beside her, Emilio was saying something, though she couldn’t quite hear him. It was as if everything in her peripheral vision had melted away. All she saw was the fox and the key tucked in his mouth. Nothing else.
Closer.
Masika gently pushed past Emilio. She felt her arms moving.
Someone was shouting at her. Stop! Don’t! But Masika could no longer hear them. She continued forward, inching closer and closer to the fox, until she was kneeling right in front of it, peering down at the creature’s dark eyes.
She was close enough that the pain of the defensive barrier should have shocked her by now, and yet…she felt nothing. No pain. Just complete and total calm. She lifted her hand and scratched the fox gently beneath the chin.
It watched her.
Take it.
Masika reached out her hand. She didn’t even have to grab the key. The fox simply leaned forward, opening its narrow jaw, and dropped it onto her palm.
The second it touched her skin, the key came to life. A brilliant deep indigo glow burst out of it, nearly blinding Masika, though she didn’t look away. She couldn’t even blink. She stared and stared and stared and—
Masika snapped to her senses from one blink to the next, the sound of the others rushing in as though she’d been thrust back into her body. The third key was now tucked in her hand, and the fox…it was gone. As if it had never existed at all.
“What the hell?” Olivier’s brows were pinched in concern, eyes skating over Masika’s face as though he was checking her for any signs of injury. Emilio was beside him, staring up at Masika expectantly. “How did you do that?”
Masika blinked, dazed. “I…I don’t know.”
Catherine stepped closer. She inspected Masika with the same tentative concern that Olivier had shown only seconds earlier.
“Did you dismantle the barrier?” she asked carefully.
“Better question is how did you dismantle it?” Olivier added.
Masika opened and closed her mouth. What had she done? She couldn’t remember. All she could remember was feeling as though she wanted—no, needed to approach the fox. Had she heard a voice calling to her?
Masika shook her head, clearing away the thoughts. “I don’t know, okay? I just…grabbed it.”
Before the interrogation could go any further, Dina’s voice called out to them from a few feet ahead. Masika, too caught up in the dazed feeling that had come over her, hadn’t even noticed her and Analisa pushing past them.
“Take a look at this.”
A few feet ahead, right behind where the fox had been, now stood a door with three keyholes. It was fairly easy to discern where each key went—corresponding colors were painted over the metal openings. Dark emerald. Ruby red. Deep indigo.
“Is this…is this it?” Emilio asked in a shaky whisper. “Is this the resting place?”
“Looks like it,” Analisa mumbled. She gestured Catherine forward with an encouraging nod. “Go on.”
Catherine turned to face the door, breath held. She inserted the emerald key first. Then, with a steady hand, she placed the red key in its slot. Finally, she turned to face Masika, hand extended.
For a tense beat, Masika remained frozen.
She knew she should hand Catherine the third and final key, but she found herself clutching it a bit tighter, holding on to it for a second too long.
But before the others could notice, she forced herself to drop it into Catherine’s hand, ignoring the hollowness left in its wake.
Catherine slipped the indigo key into the final slot.
She placed her hand upon the door, exhaled a shuddering breath, and pushed.
To Masika’s immense relief…the door opened.
A small stone chamber greeted them—strange carvings etched into the walls, golden sconces adorning the perimeter of the room. Catherine entered first, with Dina and Analisa on her heels. Masika, Olivier and Emilio entered together, Benji still cradled in Emilio’s arms.
Candles lit the chamber in a hazy orange glow, though Masika could tell they were enchanted. They had a dreamlike flicker, an otherworldly shimmer that made the flames appear to be made up of thousands of tiny stars.
And standing at the center, carved from gleaming obsidian, stood a tomb.
But something wasn’t right.
The large stone slab on top of the tomb had already been shoved aside.
A panicked thought shot through Masika.
Someone has already been here.
For a moment, nobody moved. Breaths held, they stood there, their minds slowly attempting to piece together what they were seeing. It was Dina who finally snapped out of it, beelining toward the tomb. Behind her, Catherine followed, though she kept her distance.
Dina peered inside, hands pressed carefully on the edge of the tomb.
She paused, a hitch in her breath, and then she reached for something, stretching her arm down farther, until finally, she straightened her shoulders, turning back to face them.
But when Masika met her gaze, she noticed that Dina’s face had gone pallid, her eyes riddled with panic.
“What?” Catherine snapped, eyes wild. “What is it?”
Dina unfurled her palm and revealed a small piece of paper. There was something etched upon the ripped-up parchment. A drawing. “This is the only thing I found.”
Catherine’s expression hardened. “What do you mean?”
“There’s nothing else in there.” Dina let out a shuddering breath. “It’s empty.”